This invention relates to hub caps generally, but more particularly to stylized covers for the wheels on motor vehicles. Wheel covers presently in use have a series of resilient clips which holdably engage the rim on the vehicle wheel as they are driven inwardly by striking the outer face of the cover. Unless care is exercised in the selection of a proper tool, the cover can be damaged and the surface marred in the course of removing and applying it to the vehicle wheel.
Furthermore, the resilient clips scrape paint from the wheel rim every time the cover is removed and replaced. Such loss of paint exposes the metal to moisture, thus causing the wheel rims to rust, which eventually produces discoloration of the sidewalls on the vehicle tires. Conventional wheel covers are also always vulnerable to theft and accidental loss resulting from sudden stress and shock produced by pot holes and other irregularities in the driving surface.
Fully cognizant of these shortcommings in conventional wheel covers, the applicant has conceived and developed a cover for vehicle wheels which can be removed and applied indefinitely without any damage to the gripping surface of the wheel rims. Furthermore, loss of the applicant's wheel cover by accident is virtually impossible, and any attempt by thieves to remove the cover without first de-pressurizing the inflatable tube would result in severe damage to or complete destruction of the wheel cover.
Therefore, since accidental deflation of the tube is a very remote possibility, and the valve stem is not accessible for deliberate deflation by thieves, it is readily apparent that the applicant's wheel cover is highly invulnerable to loss either by accident or theft. The applicant's wheel cover is thus accordingly considered to constitute a significant contribution to the related art.